Dress protector



L. RATHSMILL.

DRESS PROTECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED uni 28.1919.

Patented Feb. 14, 1922.

UNITED STATES;

PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS RATHSMILL, OF PENN S GROVE, NEW JERSEY.

nnnss rnorncron.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 28, 1919. Serial No. 507,330.

To (1% whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS RATI-IsMILL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Penns Grove, county of Salem, State of New Jersey, have invented anew and useful Dress Protector, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists of a novel construction of a garment panel or dress protector which is composed of outer and inner sheets of suitable preferably waterproofed fabric,-such as silk, linen, cambric or the like, between which is interposed a suitable stiffener such as hair cloth, composed of hair and cotton threads suitably interwoven together and assembled with respect to the panel in such a way that the hair will run horizontally and the cotton threads interwoven therewith will run vertically whereby said protector will always assume the desired shape and position with respect to the garments of the wearer.

It further consists of a novel manner of shaping and securing the dress protector to the corset or underwear of the wearer in such a way that the protector is properly and effectively secured in position and adapted to the person of the wearer in such a way that its upper and lower portions set neatly and closely with respect to the.

tion of the wearers corset, while the lower three-fourths of the protector by reason of the hair cloth is caused always to hang properly in a pendant or vertical position below the corset so that when the wearer arises from a sitting position, the outer garment will assume the proper position For the purpose of illustrating my invention, I have shown in the accompanying drawing one form thereof which is at present preferred by me, since the same will give in practice satisfactory and reliable results, although it is to be understood that the varlous instrumentalities of which my invention consists can be variously arranged and organized and that my invention is not limited to the precise arrangement and organization of these instrumentalities as herein shown and described.

- Flgure 1 represents a front elevation of 'my novel construction of garment panel,

it being broken away to show the position of the hair cloth.

' Figure 2 represents a section on line 2-2 of Figure,

Figure 3 represents a perspective view of the panel in position on body of the wearer.

S1m1lar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the figures.

Referring to the drawings In carrying out the manufacture of my novel dress protector, I take two pieces of vwater-proofed fabric 2, such as silk, linen, cambric, or the like, and cut or shape the same as seen in Figure 1, the same having the lower curved or elliptical edges 3, WlllCh nieetat the curved bottom point 4,

'theupper portion of the protector having the sides 5, which converge toward the horizontal line 6 which constitutes the top of the protector, and has the braid 7 attached thereto, whereby it can be readily secured around the waist or corset of the wearer.

In the lower three-fourths of the protector below the point indicated by the line of stitching 8 down to the bottom 4, I'provide a pocket, in which I locate the hair cloth 9, which extends from said line of stitching 8 down to the bottom 4 and conforms to the outside lines 3 of the protec tor, said hair cloth acting as a stiffener and causing the protector to always assume its proper position.

I position the hair cloth in its pocket in such awayithat the hair runs horizontally as indicated by the horizontal black or heavy lines in Figure 1, while the cotton Patented Feb. 14, 1922.

lowing means:

threads interwoven with the hair run in a vertical direction, as indicated by the light vertical lines in Figure 1.

By the employment of the hair cloth the lower three-fourths of the protector from about the dotted line 8 is caused to always assume the proper shape seen in Figure 3. The protector can be attached to the corset or underwear of the wearer in any suitable manner, but I preferably employ the fol- 10 designates a pair of sockets located on the outer edges of the protector at about the points substantially as seen in Figure 1, which are adapted to snap upon the ball fastenings 11 seen in Figure 3, itbeing understood that said balls are secured to the corset 12 or to any suitable portion of the underwear of the wearer, so that the protector will always properly hang in a pendant vertical position and away from the body of the wearer after it has been secured in place.

By making the upper portion of the protector above the line of stitching 8 flexible,

and providing the same with the converging lines or edges 5, it will be seen that sai upper portion neatly and closely engages the lower portion of the corset, and .is re% tained by the tying braid 7 and in addition, the ball and socket fasteners prevent the samefrom shifting.

My novel dress protector is light and in-' expensive and the hair cloth positioned as above described in its pocket, prevents the outer skirt from following the natural inward curves of the body.

hen a woman wearing my novel dress protector arises from a sitting position, especially in hot weather, when but few soft clinging garments are worn, there is no liability or tendency for the skirt to be caught in the seat, since the provisionof the smooth protector having the stiffener in its lower portion and the flexible upper portion will prevent the outer skirt and other garments from, clinging as they will slip down and hang in the proper place and position when one arises.

I am aware of the Patent No. 1,262,136, but my invention is differentiated therefrom, since I dispense with the bones described therein, and employ hair cloth positioned in a novel manner with the inner and outer enclosing sheets and in addition make the upper portion of the protector flexible and provide means for fastening it about the waist of the wearer, and to none of the constructions of the prior art, do I herein make any claim. I am also aware of Patcnts Nos..77e,077, 971,680 and 1,067,761 for catamenial. appliances, but my device is distinguished therefrom, since itis not designed or used for this purpose,. but is employed as a panel solely for preventing the outer garments of the wearer from clinging to and disclosing the natural lines of the posterior, which I effect by the employment of the lower stiffener of the novel construction heretofore described, in conjunction with the downwardly converging panel edgesB and the attaching devices 10 and 11, whereby in the operation ofv my device it normally tends to position, itself, when the use arises, in a vertical pendant position out ofcontact with the body of the wearer and thus prevents the nether garments from clinging thereto.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and useful dress protector, which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of the invention 1 and the above description, and while I have, in the present instance, shown and described a preferred embodiment thereof which will give in practice satisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that the same is susceptibleof composed of two layers offlexible fabric secured together at the top of the panel and across the said widest part thereof, and a layer of stiffening material interposed between said fabric layers below said widest part, said material being composed of vertical, flexible threads interwoven with horizontal threads of relatively less flexibility, whereby the lower portion of the panel is caused normally to assume a substantially vertical position,'in combination with means for attaching the panel to theperson of the wearer. V

2. A dress panel adapted tobe interposed between a skirtand the body of the wearer,

and comprising inner and outer sheets having a pocket in the lower portion thereof, a sheet of hair cloth filling said pocket, and composed of hair and flexible threads interwoven together, said hair extending horizontally and said threads vertically of said panel, a line of stitching extending transversely across said panel above the median line thereof,fastening devices on said panel in proximity to said stitching, and a fasten ing device at the top of said panel adapted to surround the wearers'waist, the lower edges of said panel being converged downwardly.

3. A 1 dress appliance of the kind described, comprising the combination witha waist band of a panel depending from the sameand consisting of a flexible upper part ing its greatest -width at the line of juncture and a relatively stiff lower part, the latter of said parts. being formed by a sheet of hair cloth composed of hair and relatively flexible threads LOUIS RATHSMILL' 5 interwoven together, said hair extending Witnesses: l

horizontally and said relatively flexible EMANUEL RATHsMILL,

threads extending vertically, the panel hav- JOSEPH RATHSMILL. 

